We're early on into the season yet the Raptors have already placed the finishing touches on one accomplishment that no one is paying much attention to due to their own unrealistic expectations placed on the team. As of the end of last night's game against the Pacers, a game in which we seen the Raptors completely light them up in the first half and then coast to a W, the Raptors sit comfortably in 7th place in the east.

To some that means nothing. The Raptors do only sit at 7-8 while housing a roster that was supposed to be massively revamped for the better. The failure in this logic is due to the failure to pay attention to detail. A telling signs that they're on the right track is their 5-2 home record. Good teams win at home and when one looks around the league every elite team in the league has a very strong home record right now. Beyond that, the level of competition the Raptors have faced has been steep. Out of the 15 games they have played to date 12 of them have been against teams who most had slotted in as playoff teams. Through this time period they have scored wins against the likes of the Cavs, Heat, Bulls, Hornets and Pistons. Beyond the embarrassing defeat to the Grizzlies in game two they have not endured another embarrassing defeat to a mediocre team since as they've convincingly beat both the Pacers and Clippers in the past couple weeks. The point? Contrary to popular belief, the Raptors are off to a great start and exactly where they could have hoped to be. While they do have their deficiencies on defense people need to realize that this team has nine new players and a realtively new head coach. On the flip side they have been great on offense with Bosh and Bargnani leading the way while Jose and Hedo have quarterbacked the team adequately to date. The defense will improve and I feel the offense, believe it or not, will also improve. The the Pacers game was a glimpse at what can happen when the second unit has a quarterback in Jarret Jack hitting his shots and playing aggressive. There is lots of hope for the future and this team now is in a position where their rest of the season schedule will be much easier than many in the east have to face.

To be 7th seed, only one game below .500, after being completely overhauled and faced with a brutal schedule is an accomplishment in my books... For this up and coming team it is anyway. Rome wasn't built in one night and neither is anything else with a high magnitude of greatness. Thoughts?

We're early on into the season yet the Raptors have already placed the finishing touches on one accomplishment that no one is paying much attention to due to their own unrealistic expectations placed on the team. As of the end of last night's game against the Pacers, a game in which we seen the Raptors completely light them up in the first half and then coast to a W, the Raptors sit comfortably in 7th place in the east.

To some that means nothing. The Raptors do only sit at 7-8 while housing a roster that was supposed to be massively revamped for the better. The failure in this logic is due to the failure to pay attention to detail. A telling signs that they're on the right track is their 5-2 home record. Good teams win at home and when one looks around the league every elite team in the league has a very strong home record right now. Beyond that, the level of competition the Raptors have faced has been steep. Out of the 15 games they have played to date 12 of them have been against teams who most had slotted in as playoff teams. Through this time period they have scored wins against the likes of the Cavs, Heat, Bulls, Hornets and Pistons. Beyond the embarrassing defeat to the Grizzlies in game two they have not endured another embarrassing defeat to a mediocre team since as they've convincingly beat both the Pacers and Clippers in the past couple weeks. The point? Contrary to popular belief, the Raptors are off to a great start and exactly where they could have hoped to be. While they do have their deficiencies on defense people need to realize that this team has nine new players and a realtively new head coach. On the flip side they have been great on offense with Bosh and Bargnani leading the way while Jose and Hedo have quarterbacked the team adequately to date. The defense will improve and I feel the offense, believe it or not, will also improve. The the Pacers game was a glimpse at what can happen when the second unit has a quarterback in Jarret Jack hitting his shots and playing aggressive. There is lots of hope for the future and this team now is in a position where their rest of the season schedule will be much easier than many in the east have to face.

To be 7th seed, only one game below .500, after being completely overhauled and faced with a brutal schedule is an accomplishment in my books... For this up and coming team it is anyway. Rome wasn't built in one night and neither is anything else with a high magnitude of greatness. Thoughts?

...Well if you can contribute something stronger then put your money where your mouth is. More substance please?

I criticise. If the Raptors lost to the Pacers it would be a doom and gloom article and the RF insane asylum would go crazy.

This article just puts the Raptors season in a nice positive bow and heaps hope to the Raptor faithful. The fact of the matter is the Raptors still have the same problems before the Pacer game then they do now. They are selling average and because its after a win most will buy the product.

Its ok I do agree with him but the article is added with a touch of too much positivity for me.

I'm a pure critic in my views but if you want more substance and put "my money where my mouth is" maybe I could find some time to create a thread of my own.

Right now I don't have enough meat for that so I'll be armchair quarterback for now. Also, you may love what I think of Reggie.

I criticise. If the Raptors lost to the Pacers it would be a doom and gloom article and the RF insane asylum would go crazy.

This article just puts the Raptors season in a nice positive bow and heaps hope to the Raptor faithful. The fact of the matter is the Raptors still have the same problems before the Pacer game then they do now. They are selling average and because its after a win most will buy the product.

Its ok I do agree with him but the article is added with a touch of too much positivity for me.

I'm a pure critic in my views but if you want more substance and put "my money where my mouth is" maybe I could find some time to create a thread of my own.

Right now I don't have enough meat for that so I'll be armchair quarterback for now. Also, you may love what I think of Reggie.

So I get cynical every now and then sue me.

Actually, I just wrote that myself and it had little to do with the Pacers game and more to do with 10 minutes or so to kill... Once you get to know me more as a poster you'll see I'm pretty balanced.

I never thought the Raps could start out this strong considering the re-make of the team and 8 western conference road games to start the season.

But I'm sticking with my preseason prediction:

Quote:

The risks for any team with a makeover of this scale are high and it would be hard imagine a much bigger makeover than what Bryan Colangelo achieved this off season. But with the risks should come the rewards.

Prediction: The Raptors to match their 2006-07 win total of 47 this season and secure a 4th or 5th place finish in their conference.

For those who prefer to play it safe, the betting line is 41.5 wins. Take that to mean if the Raptors’ remake doesn’t work, the risk runs both ways from there!

I agree about the offense. It seems crazy, because we're so good, but we will be better offensively as times goes by. We're still not playing smart all the time, and jack is slowly starting to regain his form. We will be the best offensive team (efficiency wise) of the new millenium by the time the season is over.

defense on the other hand ... you'd think they'll get better, they are better than they look, but it might not happen. Partially the blame is on how easy we score - it makes it harder to focus.